The nation welcomed Oprah Winfrey into their living rooms on September 8, 1986. Here, Winfrey attends the 43rd Annual Golden Globe Awards during the same year.
Winfrey holds tight to her Daytime Emmy Award in 1987. She is on her way!
Winfrey slims down just in time for the 9th Annual National Conference For Women in New York City in 1990.
Winfrey smiles wide, on her way to the American All-Star Tribute in 1990. She is the guest of honor.
By 1995, Winfrey has clocked nearly a decades’ worth of TV time. She is on her way to becoming the’ media mogul she is today.
Oprah Winfrey switches up her coif, once again, in 1998, as she attends the 24th Annual People’s Choice Awards.
Two years after officially launching “Oprah’s Book Club,” Winfrey attends The National Book Awards in New York City in 1998.
She may be the Queen of Daytime Talk, but Winfrey doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight. Bill Cosby joins her on stage during the 2000 Essence Awards at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
In 2001, Winfrey expanded her empire to include her very own magazine, aptly-named, “O, The Oprah Magazine.”
Winfrey accepts the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony in 2002.
Winfrey lends a hand to a schoolgirl during her 2002 visit to the rural town of Harding, South Africa. By 2007, she’d cut the ribbon on the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Johannesburg.
Winfrey is all smiles as she heads to Sesame Workshop’s Second Annual Benefit Gala in 2004.
In December 2005, Oprah was a guest on the “Late Show with David Letterman,” which is taped at the Ed Sullivan Theater…just down the street from the Broadway Theater, where she produced the stage play, “The Color Purple.”
Winfrey is the guest of honor at the New York Public Library’s Annual Library Lions Gala in 2006.
The audience rose to their feet when Winfrey stepped to the stage at the 2006 Black Movie Awards.
Winfrey is honored with The Humanitarian Award at The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Awards Dinner in 2007.
Winfrey walks the red carpet with her co-producer, Tyler Perry, at the “Precious: Based On The Novel ‘PUSH’ By Sapphire” premiere at the AFI Festival in Los Angeles.
Winfrey smiles alongside our President and First Lady during the ABC presentation of “The Obama Christmas Special.” What a way to spend the holidays!
A former Oscar-nominee herself, Oprah presented at the 2010 Academy Awards ceremony. Coincidentally, comedian Mo’Nique won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Precious,” a film Oprah for which Oprah was an executive producer.
“We all know that when Oprah Winfrey says, “I like it” … What does that mean? That means you can purchase a small island anywhere in the world, if you like," said comedian/actress Mo’Nique of Oprah’s backing belief in her abilities on the movie “Precious.”
Shortly after announcing her retirement from daytime TV, Oprah, who had been working on her own cable channel OWN, announced original programming for the channel’s Jan. 1, 2011 launch.
In June Oprah (pictured with Morgan Freeman) was there to honor her friend, director Mike Nichols, at the AFI Life Achievement Award.
Oprah hosted the first-annual “Live Your Best Life” Weekend in New York City to raise money for charity in March of 2010.
It always helps to have friends in high places. Oprah co-chaired this year’s Costume Institute Gala Benefit in a stunning Oscar de la Renta (pictured) dress that took some 250 hours, four dressmakers, three fittings and “hundreds and hundreds of ruffles” to create.
Oprah is loved even in the land down under. The queen of daytime talk recently took 300 audience members on all-expenses paid trip to Australia.
Oprah Winfrey talks to the crowd during a public event at Federation Square on December 10, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.
Oprah visited the Annangu Aboriginal tribe during her trip to Australia where an elder presented her with a traditional necklace.
In July, Oprah was honored with the Minerva Award for for creating her Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa and the Oprah Angel Network. She would later give $6 million away to public school through the Angel Network. We can’t think of anyone more deserving.
Oprah was an honoree at this year’s Kennedy Center Honors for innovative career in the media. “It feels like an elevated kind of award and there aren’t many in this category. They look at your work, your life work, who you are as a human being and the spirit of who you are.”
Lately, Oprah has been riding high with the launch of her new network OWN. We look forward to seeing what the future has in store for her. Happy birthday, Oprah!
